Arctia Virgo from The Butterflies and Moths of America Part 5
Medium
Color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 15/16 x 2 3/8 in. (10 x 6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jefferson Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson Burdick, 1951
Accession Number
51.650.16(7)
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Arctia Virgo" is a delicate color lithograph created in 1862 by the pioneering firm Louis Prang & Co. as part of the series *The Butterflies and Moths of America*. Measuring just 3 15/16 by 2 3/8 inches, the print depicts a butterfly—likely the Virgin Tiger Moth—alongside colorful flowers. Its compact size and precise rendering reflect the era’s fascination with natural history, offering viewers an intimate glimpse of entomological beauty through the emerging technology of color printing. Louis Prang & Co. helped popularize chromolithography in America, a process that produced vibrant, detai...
About the Artist
Louis Prang & Co. · 1800–1950
Louis Prang & Co. was the Boston printing firm that introduced the Christmas card to the American public and elevated chromolithography to the level of a serious art form. Its founder, Louis Prang (1824–1909), was born in Breslau, Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland), where he trained as a cloth printer and dyer. After participating in revolutionary activity against the Prussian government, he fled first...